Ransom
by Chloe Winchester
Summary: Sam, Dean and Lauren are kidnapped by crazed people that want a million dollars from Maggie in exchange for their lives. Hurt!Dean and Hurt!Sam please R&R Sequel to Oogie Boogie Man
1. Empty Home

--Hey! I told ya I'd have it!--

1

"We have another one already?" Maggie whined. "Jeez, we never get a break do we?" Sam came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Part of the job description, no days off." He said. They were sitting in yet another motel in southern Wyoming, having just taken care of a banshee that was killing unmarried men. Dean had left the second the doctor had told him he could go home after the whole Boogie Man incident. He had suggested that they go after the Tulpa and dispose of it once and for all.

Lauren had pointed out that there was no way to exterminate fear in the world, and as long as fear existed, so would the Boogie Man. Dean, though extremely frustrated, had dropped the hunt and went onto the next one, though banshees were never a walk in the park.

Dean sighed, staring at the newspaper clipping Lauren had just handed him."Yeah it sucks. Especially when we have to go to hick-spit towns like Allenspark Colorado." Maggie's eyes grew to the size of ping-pong balls, her brows lost somewhere in her hairline.

"W-we have to go where?" She asked.

"Allenspark Colorado. There's been a couple murders in the past week." Dean said. "And considering _nothing _happens in Colorado this could be up our alley."

"It could just be some psycho getting his jollies." Maggie suggested.

"Yeah but I doubt some psycho can tear up the insides of a person from the outside. No entry wound of any kind anywhere." Maggie sighed.

"Do we have to go?" She asked.

"Maggie," Lauren said. "Why are you so worried about going there?"

"Be-because that's where I grew up." She admitted. "That's where I lived my whole life, until Mom and Dad died."

"I thought your house was down south." Sam said.

"That was...one of the houses we owned." Sam came around to face her.

"What do you mean 'one of'?" He asked. Lauren and Dean stared at her expectantly.

"I mean one of." Maggie said. "We only had about four or five anyway." She said, instantly regretting it and inhaling sharply.

"Four or five _houses_?" Lauren asked. Maggie nodded. "Are they all as big as the one by our bar?" Maggie shook her head.

"Oh hell no. That one's the smallest we have." All three pairs of wide eyes were on her, stunned into disbelief.

"Are you telling us you're loaded?" Dean asked.

"Well, yeah." Maggie said quietly. "When Apple was first getting its start Dad invested about a hundred dollars."

"Shit!" Lauren exclaimed. "He had to've been a millionaire." Maggie nodded.

"Yeah." She said. Lauren stood, arms folded across her chest, brows creased.

"So you're telling me we could have been staying at real hotels without using fake credit cards?" She asked darkly. Maggie nodded meekly. "Then why aren't we?"

"I thought you guys liked the whole motel thing. You've never complained before." Maggie defended.

"That's because we never had the option to do anything else." Dean snapped.

"Well I'm sorry," Maggie said. "Next time we're somewhere I don't have a house we'll stay somewhere nice." She said. Sam shook his head. Maggie walked closer to him. "I thought that if you found out, you'd I don't know, you might just-" Sam knew where she was headed.

"I would never, _ever, _be with you for any other reason than the fact that I love you." He whispered. Maggie smiled softly. "Thanks."

"Hey, yo, lovebirds." Lauren said. "We've got go. Your parents still own the house Maggs?" Maggie nodded. "Then we're stayin' there."

* * *

The house was huge. Huger than huge it was gigantic.

"How many rooms did you say this place had?" Sam asked.

"About thirty-five." Maggie said nonchalantly.

"Wow." He said.

The house was white, the window trim black. A large balcony wrapped around the top-most floor. The door matched the windows, the roof, and the large iron gate they had to go through to get to the main house. The house sat on at least 400 acres of land that was mostly empty.

The pale gray September sky made a pleasant back drop for the large house, the cold crisp air rustling the orange, red, and brown leaves of the two oak trees that stood parallel on either side of the vast driveway.

Sam put the Ferrari in park at the top of the driveway, the Impala close behind. He and Maggie exited the car, both hearing the familiar squeak of Dean's car doors.

"Jeez Maggs how come you never told me about this?" Lauren asked. "I'm your best friend."

"I didn't want you to just be friend's with me for my money." Maggie said. "I had a lot of those growin' up." Lauren nodded.

"Well," Dean said, hoisting his duffel bag over his shoulder. "Do we get a tour?"

* * *

"I hired a maintenance crew after Mom and Dad died to come in here once a week and keep it nice, just in case I decided to drop in." Maggie said.

"Well thank god you did," Lauren said. "This place is beautiful." And it was. The house was lovely on the outside but gorgeous on the inside. They were walking up to the third floor now. The grand wooden staircase they climbed had no creaks or even a speck of dust on the railing.

"Alright," Maggie said. "All the bedrooms are up here. I'm taking the last one on the right. Lauren, Dean, take your pick." Dean grinned.

He hadn't stayed in a house house in a very long time. He hadn't slept in an actual bed in a long time either. Lauren pushed open a door on their left, Dean did the same on their right.

Maggie grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him down the hallway.

"Let's hit the hay Sam." She grinned. Sam smiled and followed after her. Once the door at the end of the hall had shut, Lauren and Dean burst out laughing.

"Thank god it's a big house." Lauren giggled. Dean nodded. Lauren looked into the room of the door she had opened. "Oh, we are so staying in this one."

The room was vast and spacious. Up against the back wall was a large four poster bed. The curtains around it were white and see through. The covers on the bed were white as well. Lauren sat down on it and was amazed at how soft it was. Dean fell down next to her and sighed.

"This hunt is gonna be awesome." He said, a grin on his face. Lauren laid down next to him. Dean closed his eyes.

"At least we'll have somethin' to look forward to." Lauren said. They were both asleep minutes later.

* * *

Maggie opened her eyes and dim sunlight met them. She turned her head and was surprised to see Sam gone.

_He probably went downstairs for breakfast. _She thought. She stood and stretched, glad to be home after all these years. She walked out of her room and tiptoed past Lauren and Dean's. She descended the stairs and was surprised to hear nothing.

"Sam?" She called. No answer. "Sam?" She walked into the kitchen and met no one. "Dean? Lauren? Sam?" No one answered her.

Dean and Lauren's room was empty, both cars were still parked out front. She ran back upstairs into her room, starting to panic.

She looked around the room, not sure of what she was looking for. She looked at the nightstand and saw a piece of paper. She bent down and picked it up, figuring the note was from Sam. She was wrong.

_We have the people you care about._

_We want 1,000,000 in 2 days_

_or they all die._

_No police or they all die._

_2 days._

--Uh-oh! What's gonna happen? Guess you'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out. Reviews please!--


	2. So It Begins

--Did ya like chapter 1? Good! you'll love chapter 2--

2

Lauren opened her eyes to reveal a concrete room in semi-darkness. Light shone through a small barred window touching the top of the ten foot ceiling, though it was slightly filtered from the gray sky. Her arms were behind her back, tied roughly with rope. She pulled at her wrist but knew it wouldn't budge--and she was right. She sat up, which was a difficult task considering the size of her stomach, and saw a shape at the other end of the room. She tried to stand and move toward it. She got about halfway up and was jerked back down. She looked over her shoulder and saw the rope led to a metal hoop attached to the wall.

"Aw," The shape at the other end of the room started to move. "Son of a bitch." It groaned. Lauren's eyes lit up.

"Dean?" She said. Dean looked up and smiled.

"Hey baby." He said, slightly out of breath. He pulled at the rope around his own wrists. "Dammit!" He yelled.

"Yeah, mine either." She said. Dean looked around, eyes suddenly wide and frantic.

"Sam," He breathed. "Where's Sammy?" Lauren couldn't see anybody else.

"I don't know." She said sadly.

"Dean!" They heard. The voice sounded far off, and had a small echo. "Dean!" Lauren turned behind her and saw a small vent. She bent down next to it.

"Sam?" She yelled. "That you?" She heard Sam sigh.

"Yeah, Dean with you?"

"Yeah Sammy I'm here!" Dean yelled. Sam sighed again.

"Where the hell are we Dean?" He asked.

"Besides the corner of Bum-Fuck and You Got a Perdy Mouth?" He replied, grin planted on his face. Sam and Lauren laughed. "I have no idea."

"What has us?" Lauren asked.

"I think they're just people." Sam said. "I'll tell you if I figure anything else out."

They heard noise outside the metal door. Instantly Lauren straightened up. She didn't want the bad guys to know they could talk to Sam. The door creaked open and three men stepped in. Two were wide and thick, obviously the middle guy's muscles. As for middle man he was thin, lanky, but menacing, which Dean and Lauren found strange. A fourth man came in, slightly out of breath.

"I told you to wait." Four said. Middle turned.

"I'm running this operation," He said. "I wait for no one." Four scowled. Middle turned back around and stepped forward. "Sam and Dean Winchester, and the infamous Lauren Nichols. What a pleasure to meet you. Well, I haven't quite got acquainted with Samuel yet but I will." Dean scowled and pulled at the rope behind him.

"What the hell do you want shit face?" Lauren asked. Middle walked over to her, bent down, and slapped her. Dean pulled as hard as he could at the rope and stood as far up as he could go.

"You bastard!" He bellowed. Lauren turned back to face him, feeling a small trickle of blood fall from the corner of her mouth.

"You will learn to respect me." Middle said. He stood again. "And to answer your question I want my million dollars. I know your friend has it. She's an Allshire. Everyone around here knows they have money, and so do a quite a few that don't." He was pacing back and forth between the two. Dean's lip was curled into a sneer, Lauren, however, kept her face expressionless. "My name is Raphael. And until I get my money, your life is in my hands."

Four took a step forward. "This wasn't what we agreed to." He whispered harshly. "You said we weren't going to hurt them."

"Plans change Tobias." Raphael said, smirking.

"You touch one hand on her head I'll castrate you myself!" Dean bellowed. Raphael turned to him.

"It's not her I'm going to touch." He said. He gestured for the two muscles behind him. They stepped forward and started to walk toward Dean. Now Lauren was the one pulling at her ropes.

"Fine, we'll change our statement. You touch one hair on his head _I'll _castrate you!" Raphael's smirk deepened.

"Oh I won't lay a hand on him my dear." He said. She scowled. Muscles number one grabbed Dean's arms while the other untied the longer rope, leaving his wrists bound. Dean instantly started to struggle against them, and was starting to win.

Muscles number two pulled out a remote size black object, pushed it into Dean's side, and squeezed it. Lauren saw a small shifting light and heard a zapping sound.

"Ahahn!" Dean cried before going limp. Muscles two pulled the stun gun away and grabbed one of Dean's arms, Muscles one grabbing the other. Dean's eyes were still open, his breath deep and he was still fighting feebly against the two men.

"You bastard!" Lauren screamed.

"Take him to where I told you to." Raphael mumbled. The men nodded and headed toward the door.

"No," Dean said weakly. "NO! Lauren!"

"DEAN!" She cried, pulling at the ropes that bound her. "No please," She begged. "Don't take him!" The men got closer to the door.

"LAUREN!" Dean yelled.

"DEAN!" She shrieked. The were almost out the door.

"Love me?" Dean asked, tears in his eyes. Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Forever." She said softly. Dean disappeared behind the door and it closed. Lauren collapsed onto the ground and started to sob. "You bastard," She whispered between cries. "You bastard." Raphael smiled and re-opened the door.

"I think it's time I got acquainted with Samuel." He said, and exited the room. Only Lauren and Tobias remained.

Tobias' expression was pained and confused. "I'm so sorry." He said. "This wasn't how it was supposed to happen." Lauren said nothing. "Your friend will pay. They always do. Then everything will be okay. Alright?" Lauren still said nothing. Tobias walked toward the door, taking one last look at Lauren, gaze shifting from her head, to her stomach. The door shut and Lauren looked up. The air was silent around her, except a small noise coming from a distance. Lauren leaned down to the vent. The noise was coming from there, and the noise was sobbing.

"Sam?" Lauren whispered. Before Sam could answer she heard a loud squeaking, the sound the doors made.

"Wait," Sam said, obviously distressed. "Stop! DON"T!" Lauren flinched. "NAHHH!"

* * *

Dean opened his eyes to a bright light and cold air pressing against him. He side was still throbbing from the stun gun. He looked down to see his chest bare, a deep, clean cut stretched a few inches across it still bleeding. His arms were around something rough and damp, he turned to try and see behind him, finding he couldn't. He looked up and saw two things. One was leaves, the other pale gray sky.

"I'm tied to a tree." He said. "The bastards cut me, tied me to a tree, and left me here." He was sitting on the ground, legs stretched out in front of him, feet also bare. He pulled at the ropes around his wrists, also finding they wouldn't budge. "Crap." He said. The wind blew, sending a shiver through his body. And to add to the predicament he was in, it started to rain.

* * *

Maggie could get the money easy. She just wasn't sure that if she gave them the money, Sam, Lauren and Dean would stiil live. She had to think this through, which wasn't something she usually did. Lauren was always there to help her out, to tell her the smart thing to do. Maggie was way to clumsy to do this on her own. She looked up from her cup of coffee she had been drinking in the small diner in town.

Everyone went about their business. Nobody had really recognized her since she had been back, and she was glad for it. She didn't like the whole celebrity thing. She liked it when people left her alone. She looked back into her mug, as if looking for the answer inside it.

She could see someone sit down in front of her in the opposite side of the booth.

"Yes I'm Mike Allshire's daughter please leave me alone." She said shortly.

"Really," A vaguely familiar voice said. "I thought you might need my help." Maggie looked up and gasped.

"Kris?"

--More later. I think that's good for tonight.--


	3. Fire, Fear and Rain

3

When the door opened Sam had instantly sat up, trying to cover up his tears, his body tensing. Even before he saw the man had a hot fire poker in his hand. He heard Lauren say his name, but now was too late to answer. He just hoped she wouldn't say it again. He wanted to know where this bastard had taken his brother, and he wanted to know now. Too bad he didn't get the chance. The man was advancing on him fast, smiling dangerously, shifting his grip on the fire poker.

"Wait," Sam said. The man's grin broadened. "Stop!" The man was only inches from him now. Sam saw the fire poker head toward his bare chest. "DON'T!" It touched his skin, the man's smile grew even more. "NAHHH!" The man moved it and touched it to his arm. "GAHHAAHN!" He screamed. He tried moving away from the orange metal, but his attempt earned the poker pushing harder. The smell of burning flesh entered the room. The man cackled and moved it again.

"NUAHH! STOP!" He pleaded. He laughed louder. Suddenly the door burst open. Making both Sam and the man jump, causing the molten rod to move and add more agony to Sam's body. "GAhuh!" Raphael removed the fire poker.

"Raphael what the hell are you doing?" Raphael smiled.

"Having fun Tobias." He stated. Sam breathed heavily, sweat dripped down his face onto his neck. Tobias looked anxiously from Raphael to Sam, and back again.

"This wasn't part of the plan. We weren't supposed to hurt them!" Tobias exclaimed. "We were supposed to wait to get the money and let them go, just like the note said."

"I'm just getting a little insurance." Raphael said darkly. He touched the poker to Sam's neck, a hissing noise filling the room.

"AHHHAHUH!" He screamed.

"Stop it!" Tobias snapped. Raphael laughed and dug harder.

"NUAAHH!"

"STOP IT!" Tobias bellowed. Raphael pulled it away and stood.

"I'll be back Sammy." He said, grinning maliciously. He turned to Tobias and his expression darkened. "If you want one cent of the million you will not interfere again. I'm sending Charles and Micheal to deal with the...other one." He walked out of the room, adverting Tobias' scowl. Once Raphael was gone, he walked toward Sam, who tensed, eyes closed.

"I'm sorry." Tobias whispered. "Your girlfriend'll pay up. And once she does you can get out of here." He assured.

"Where's my br-brother?" Sam asked, pushing past the pain roaring through his body.

"I don't know." Tobias said. "Right now you only need to worry about you." He turned and left the room, leaving Sam alone. Sam collapsed on his side, shaking, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Sam?" Lauren said in a small voice. "Sammy?"

"Don't call me that." Sam breathed.

"There's my boy." Lauren said, slightly relieved he was still alert enough to reply. "Are you alright?" She asked. Sam nodded and then realized she couldn't see him.

"Yeah." He said softly. "Where's Dean?" He asked.

"I don't know." She whispered. "I don't know." Sam cried harder, but still silent. "Sam?" Lauren said.

"Yeah?" He breathed.

"I'm scared." She admitted. "But not for me. I'm scared for you and Dean." She paused for a moment. "At least I can talk to you." She said. Sam didn't reply.

Lauren turned back around and looked out the small window, watching the rain come down in torrents. "God Dean," She said. "Please be okay."

* * *

"Kris?" Maggie said, utterly shocked. Kris grinned back at her. Her red hair was down this time, a green flannel shirt was over her black T-shirt, sleeves rolled up. Her jeans were stained with bleach, dirt, paint, and looked like they were older than Kris was. Her boots were the same as they had been the last time she had seen her, as was the strange sophisticated feel to her despite her sort of grunge look.

"I see you have a problem." Kris said.

"What makes you say that?" Maggie said. Kris' brow arced.

"Uh, let's see, you're completely alone?" Kris gave an example. Maggie's shoulders drooped. Kris had her answer. "What happened?" She asked. Maggie explained her situation. By the end Kris had a finger pressed to her lips, deep in thought. Kris had a wonderful mind. She had a doctorate already and she wasn't even thirty yet.

"Well, we need to find them, figure out where Sam, Dean and Lauren are, _then _give them the money so they can't trick you into anything else."

"But if we find them, shouldn't we just get them then?" Maggie asked. Kris shook her head.

"They have the upper hand here. We walk in there and they could kill them in a second. We don't understand the situation, or how they're being contained. If they try anything after you deliver the money then we'll get them. Guns blazing." She said with a small grin.

"I'm a little worried." Maggie said, which was an understatement. She was a lot worried, she was scared to death, but there was no way in Hell she was gonna show it. She never did. Lock it up was her motto. "I called the bank, the account my Dad had is in another country. They said it's gonna take about three days for it to get here. And the note said I only have two." Kris nodded thoughtfully.

"Well then it depends on what kind of people they are." She said. "If they want their money bad enough they'll wait. If not, then we've got a problem. You don't have another account somewhere?" Maggie shook her head.

"Not with a million dollars in it." She said. Kris sighed and looked out the window, watching the rain pour in thick curtains, the large drops splattering against the ground and the diner window. The forecast was calling for rain all week, severe thunder storms tonight.

"The only thing we can do now is wait." She said.

"Wait for what?" Maggie asked. Kris looked at her.

"For a phone call."

* * *

Dean trembled uncontrollably in the icy rain coming down around him. His legs were drawn up to his chest, squeezing tighter when the unforgiving wind blew. His jeans were completely soaked through, water ran down his body, which was covered in goosebumps. He started to cough lightly, his teeth chattered, his face was buried in his knees. The only noise he could hear in these vast woods was the rain, his own shaking breath, and the wind.

He heard another noise coming from farther away, a steady rustling that got louder, signaling it was getting closer. He realized it was footsteps, two sets.

_Oh please let it be Lauren and Sam. _He begged. A violent tremor shot through his body. He saw rustling in the underbrush ahead of him, but what emerged was neither Lauren nor Sam. It was Muscle one and Muscle two. _Aw shit._He tensed in the freezing rain, unsure of what Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb were going to do.

Water ran into his eyes, making it hard for him to see. He saw they each had a smug grin on their face, and one had something in his hand.

They reached were he could almost see them clearly, and he realized what Muscles 1 had in his hand. A wooden baseball bat.

"What do you want shit head?" Dean asked bitterly through his chattering teeth. Muscles 2 walked closer to him, and kicked him in the ribs, the man's boots biting into his skin.

"Easy Mike." Muscles 1 said. "Boss said to do damage, nothing fatal."

"Chuck, kicking him a few times ain't gonna kill him." Mike said, kicking him again.

"Guhuhn!" Dean cried, somewhat grateful for the warm blood oozing from the fresh cut in his side. Chuck gripped the bat tighter, and hit Dean's legs, full swing."Gaha!" Dean pulled at the ropes behind him. Seeing this action, Mike punched him, sending his head back into the tree. "AHa!" Dean's head fell forward, blood dripping from his mouth.

Chuck swung the bat at his ribs and it struck, hard. "NUAHHAN!" He screamed. Chuck hit the bat on his arms, which were stretched around the tree. "AHAAH! PLEASE!" He screamed. He couldn't fight back, and that really pissed him off.

"Shut the hell up!" Mike roared, kicking him again. He was kicked, punched and struck with the bat more times than he could count. Mike's punches to his face were coming down in a fury at the moment.

"Mike, MIKE!" Chuck bellowed. Mike stopped. "That's enough." Mike backed up and turned walking out of the clearing, Chuck followed.

Dean hung his head, breath deep and ragged, tears falling from his eyes, the ones he refused to let fall when those assholes were beating him. He legs felt like they were weighed down with lead, he couldn't lift them above anything than an inch. The rain still poured, showing no sign of letting up. He sobbed quietly, body still shaking.

"S-somebody h-he-help me." He begged.

--Oo, gotta hurt huh? Anyway, review please!!--


	4. The Thunder Rolls, Raphael Strikes

4

Sam was leaning against the wall, his head tilted back. He and Lauren hadn't been talking much. Occasionally Lauren would call his name, making sure he was okay. He would answer and then it would revert back to the original silence. The burns on his torso and neck throbbed painfully, his mind raced, trying both to find a way out of here and find Dean. His older brother could be anywhere. Hell, he could be dead.

_No,_ Sam thought. _Can't think like that. Dean's alive. He's okay, and he's alive. These guys are messing with our heads by separating us. That's all. Dean's alright, he's always alright._

The door opened and Sam braced himself. Lauren heard the noise and sat up straighter, listening intently.

Sam scowled when Raphael entered, a smug smile on his face.

"How are we doing Sammy?" He asked.

"It's Sam." Sam spat. "Don't call me Sammy." Raphael walked closer to Sam.

"Aw, is your brother the only one that can call you that?" He said in a mock-sweet voice. Sam glared at him, rage building in his stomach. "Well no matter. We have some business to attend to anyway." Raphael turned and walked toward the door, he reached out side of it and around the corner, emerging with a baseball bat, blood already on it. Sam tensed. Raphael grinned. "Your brother was introduced to this just a few hours ago," He said, examining it closer. "Oh, I suppose this is his blood."

Sam's breath caught in his throat. It was confirmation that wherever Dean was, he was hurt. "Where is he?" Sam asked. Raphael shook his head, making a clicking noise with his tongue.

"Now that would be cheating now wouldn't it." He said.

"Tell me where he is you son of a bitch." Sam growled. Raphael laughed.

"What don't you understand about no?" He gripped the bat tightly and swung it directly at Sam's gut. It struck, knocking the wind out of Sam, causing him to cough violently. In a few swift movements Raphael moved behind Sam and untied the rope leading into the wall but left his wrists bound. He swung the bat at Sam again, striking him hard in the ribs. Sam fell on his side.

"Awhuh," Sam groaned, his legs moving in toward his stomach. Raphael bent down and grabbed a fistful of Sam's hair, dragging him out toward the middle of the room. Dropped Sam and raised the bat again.

_Thwack! _The bat hit his knees. "AHAHS!" _Thwack, Thwack! _The bat whistled through the air and hit his back. "OHHAH!" Sam's body jerked every time the bat hit. _Thwack! Thwack! THWACK!_"PLEASE!" Sam begged. "PLEASE DON'T!" Raphael laughed and hit Sam again. "GOHOD PLEASE!" Tears formed in his eyes. _Thwack! _Raphael had been aiming at Sam's shoulder, but he missed and struck the edge of his jaw. Sam's head jerked back, the momentum of the hit causing him to roll over. He was amazed he didn't pass out. Raphael hit him again for good measure on the shoulder. "GUHUHN!" Sam screamed.

Raphael stepped away. Sam breathed deep, blood ran down his torso and a cut above his eye he had gotten when Raphael had dragged him to this spot and dropped him. A solitary tear tracked its way down his face.

Raphael flipped open a phone and pressed a button. He held the receiver up to his ear, a sort of device on it that would disguise his voice.

"You are to drop the money off a quarter mile down 3rd avenue tomorrow at midnight." He said darkly. Someone on the other end was talking now. "Do you have any idea what I could do to them? DO YOU? Because I honestly think you don't!" He bellowed. Sam flinched. He growled and walked over to Sam, removed the device on the receiver, pulled him up by his hair, and shoved the phone next to his ear. "Talk to her!" Raphael barked.

"Maggie?" Sam rasped.

"Tell her what I did!" Raphael commanded, pulling Sam's hair tighter. "Tell her or I kill your brother!"

"Sam? Sammy, talk to me honey." Maggie said frantically.

"Maggie," Sam moaned. "He burned me." He said softly. Maggie's heart stopped. "And he hit me...with a bat." Raphael's grip tightened again.

"Ask for help." He spat.

"P-please." He whispered, tears starting to fall rapidly down his face. "Maggie please help." Maggie could barely breathe.

"I will Sam, I will. I promise. You're gonna be okay alright? You, Lauren and Dean." She said. Sam sobbed once.

"I d-don't know where he is." He cried. Raphael pulled the phone away and replaced the device.

"Sam? Sam!" Maggie yelled.

"That's enough." Raphael said. "If you ever want to hear his voice again you'll get me my money on time."

"I just need a little more time." Maggie said. "If I can give it to you on Friday-"

"I WANT MY MONEY BITCH!" He yelled.

"If you don't wait just a little while longer you won't see a cent! You hurt him or my friend's again you can kiss your money good bye!" Raphael stopped, chest heaving.

"Fine," He said. "Friday, double it." He grabbed the bat again and advanced toward Sam. "And you better fucking hurry!" He yanked the device off and struck Sam in his already bruised ribs as hard as he could.

"AAAHHHHUH!" Sam screamed. Raphael shut the phone and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Lauren was crying silently. She had heard everything Raphael had done to Sam and she felt terrible. Her heart ached as the sobs of the man she considered her own brother travel through the vent.

"Sam?" Lauren said into the vent. She wished desperately to help him, but knew it was just wasted energy. "Sam?"

"L-Lauren." Sam sobbed. His voice was close, she could tell he had worked his way back over to the vent. "I, I didn't g-get to s-say good bye." Lauren felt tears fall from her own eyes. "W-what if I do-don't see her ag-again?" Lauren shook her head.

"It'll be alright Sam." She assured. "We're gonna get out of this." She looked outside and saw lightning pierce the night sky, rain pouring down again.

She felt a violent pain in her head, and knew before her eyes closed she was about to see her husband.

* * *

The rain had stopped for a few hours now. He still couldn't lift his legs. The sky was black and he could see nothing. He was shaking in the 50 degree weather, his body still damp from the previous rain. His thoughts were muddled and clouded, he couldn't focus on anything, partially because he couldn't see anything. He had been pulling at the ropes that bound him, rubbing his wrists up and down on the tree bark, now he was exhausted. He coughed violently and returned to shivering. The wounds on his body Chuck and Mike had inflicted on him earlier pounded with his heart and pulsed agony through his freezing body.

He didn't know how his situation could get worse. Then he saw the lightning, then he heard the thunder.

The rain came down in a fury, the wind picking up violently and tossing the rain sideways in curtains. He was soaked in seconds, his trembling getting worse. Thunder boomed so viciously it made him jump followed by bright flashes of lightning. Rain splashed his face and blurred his vision. More thunder cracked overhead and he jumped again. Water ran down his arms to the raw skin on his wrists.

His breath was ragged and heavy, tremors so violent through his body he was sure the ground underneath him would shake too. Lightning flashed and more rumbling thunder followed.

Tears fell down his face out of frustration and fear. "I don't wanna die yet!" He bellowed. "Please! Not yet!" Thunder was his only reply. The freezing rain lashed harder, the unforgiving wind picking up. The ground underneath him was nothing but mud, seeping into his jeans. He coughed again and turned his head toward his arms, attempting to shield his face. Water ran down his face and he allowed some to fall down his dry throat, it was the only source of water he had. He shook, the goosebumps on his body becoming painful.

After what seemed like forever the rain let up, the thunder and lightning far off. Dean was more exhausted than he had been. He gave into the darkness around him, sobbing, coughing, shaking, and begging for someone to find him.

Lauren, sat up, tears falling down her own face.

"S-Sam?" She sobbed. "Dean's alive."

--More later!--


	5. Seeing

--Do you guys like so far? I hope so. After you read this you can take a moment of your time and tell me, well, if you want to. ; 0 )--

5

"Sam," Lauren said, voice shaky. "Dean's alive."

Sam was instantly alert. His brother meant more to him than he could ever say, and knowing he was alive gave him the tiniest spark of hope. "Is he alright?" He asked hoarsely. Lauren started sobbing, Sam didn't see that as a good sign. "Lauren?"

"He's outside Sam," She whispered between sobs. "He's outside, tied to a tree, freezing to death." Sam's breathing ceased. "I-if someone doesn't find him soon, he-he'll die."

"Oh my God," Sam choked. "No." He laid back down on the floor, his body wracked with sobs. He was determined more than ever to get to his brother. Nature could be your best friend, or your worst enemy, it depended on how you used it, or how it used you. Dean had no way to help himself. No way to try and find a way out. No way to survive, and that was exactly how Raphael wanted it.

"S-somebody beat him." Lauren admitted, knowing if she hid something from Sam would only anger him later, and Raphael could use it against him later. "Bad."

"I know." Sam said.

"How?" Lauren asked.

"T-the bat he used on m-me. It h-had Dean's blood on it." He cried. Lauren suddenly heard footsteps outside.

"Shh." She whispered.

The door opened and Raphael stepped through. Lauren scowled deeply at him, instantly feeling the monster she had dwelling in her stomach, which had gotten worse over the past six months from her pregnancy, roar and rear up on it's hind legs, growling at this awful man, ready to pounce.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked. Lauren shrugged.

"Me myself and I. You wouldn't believe the stimulating conversations we have." She said, smirk in place. He walked up to her and backhanded her. "Oo, ow." She said. Raphael looked as if he ws going to hit her again, but then stepped back and lowered his hand.

"You have no idea what I can do to your friends." He stated. "I can kill them both in an instant."

"How do I know they aren't dead already?" She said, not showing her cards.

"You'll just have to trust me." Raphael said. Lauren snorted.

"Yeah right. For all I know you have Dean tied to a tree outside, letting nature kill him." She said darkly. By the expression on Raphael's face, she knew she had struck a chord. "Oh ,wait." She said. "I think you did. Actually I know you did." She was still smirking at him, knowing she was probably scaring the piss out of him.

"No you don't." Raphael said.

"Oh yes I do. I know his arms are tied around a tree about two feet around. I know you sent your goons to beat him up, to weaken him and let nature take its course." She said.

Raphael sneered at her, out of fear and hate that she knew something he was going to use against her.

"You haven't a clue where he is." He said.

"Then let me see him," Lauren said. "Prove me wrong." Color began to rise in Raphael's face. "Or hell, let me see Sam. You probably beat him with a baseball bat by now." Raphael's expression changed ever so slightly.

"You wanna see him?" Raphael asked. "YOU REALLY WANNA SEE HIM?" Lauren didn't blink. But she nodded. Raphael moved behind her and untied the rope from the loop, pulling her up. He grabbed a walkie-talkie at his hip and pressed the button on the side. "Do it." He said. He pushed Lauren forward in front of him and wrenched open the metal door, shoving her through. They turned right to another metal door a few yards away. Lauren heard a distant echo, and realized it was screaming. Raphael opened the door and pushed Lauren through. When she saw what was happening she almost collapsed.

Sam was on his knees, hunched over, breath heavy and shallow. On his back were large red welts, bleeding. Micheal was standing over Sam, whip in hand. He smiled at Lauren when they entered and struck Sam again.

"GAHAA!" Sam screamed, his head coming up and quickly falling again, body tense. Lauren fell to her own knees, unable to stand, and shut her eyes. A rough hand grabbed her face and forced it back up.

"You did this," Raphael said. "Now you watch it or I make it ten times worse." A bare bulb hung from the ceiling, swaying every time the whip swung by. And Lauren was forced to watch every single wound appear.

* * *

Dean licked his dry, cracked lips. The dawn brought more cold and mist, the moisture sticking to his body. He jumped at every sound, scared Mike and Chuck would come back for round two. He looked down at his wounds, noticing the odd yellow-ish color of infection. He rubbed his wrists up and down on the bark again, wondering if this time would be the time the rope broke, then he would be able to huddle himself together and get warmer, he might even be able to walk. Then he could find Sam, and Lauren.

He could almost feel her. He could almost see her staring back at him, smiling her beautiful smile. He missed her so much. He missed Sam too. He prayed with all his heart that they were alright. That they were okay, and not going through the hell he was.

"L-Lauren," He choked. His voice raspy from lack of use. "Please he-help m-me." His body still trembled, non-stop. He started to cough violently, harder and harder until he gagged, puking up what little left he had in his stomach, his head turned sideways. "Da-dammit." He spat. His breath was shallow and shaking. As each wave of pain hit him he whimpered, too weak to really do anything else.

Tears pooled in his eyes and trickled down his cheeks as the rain poured at a slow pace from the sky. He looked up and wanted to scream. If only he had the strength.

_I never want to hear the word rain again. _He thought bitterly. A tremor spasmed through him and he coughed again, biting at his sore throat.

_God, I just wanna go home. _He thought hopelessly. _I just wanna go home._

He looked around him and saw nothing but trees. The clearing he was facing was a small one and any place beyond was lost in dead leaves and fog.

He leaned his head back against the tree, glancing at the deep purple bruises on his arms. He could feel the echo of the bat hitting them and he shuddered. Whether it was from his hypothermia or the mere memory of the experience he didn't know. He was pretty sure he was gonna die here, and if he didn't it would be solely because Maggie paid their ransom and those freaks let him go.

_Demons I get, people are just crazy._ He thought. _Wait haven't I said that before? When... Oh yeah, Benders. _Dean shuddered again. As he thought more about it he realized he would kill to have that hot fire poker next to his face again.

His stomach grumbled at him, begging for food where there was none to be found. The wind picked up again and he whimpered, a little louder than he intended. As the wind continued so did his whimpering, which turned to sobbing. "I w-wanna g-g-go h-ho-home." He cried. The rain tapped around him. Dean lifted his head, facing straight ahead. He closed his eyes and parted his lips slightly, letting a few drops of water flow in before closing it again. It was the only resource he had.

His legs still wouldn't move, his chest was totally bared against this violent weather. He had no way to protect himself, and he felt totally vulnerable. He wanted Lauren's warm touch more than anything in the whole world. But now he was starting to wonder if he'd ever see her again.

--More on Maggie and Kris in the next chapter! For now tell me how you liked this one.--


	6. Hurry

--Alright ladies and germs let's see how Maggie and Kris are doin' huh?--

6

Maggie shut the phone slowly, hardly able to breathe. Kris was staring at her, worried. She had heard part of the conversation through the phone but not the entire thing. Sam screaming she did hear. Maggie's face was paled, but her expression was determined.

"What did they say?" Kris asked. Maggie paused for a moment.

"He said he'd wait till Friday but he wants double the money." She said. "He's hurting Sam because he's angry with me. Sam...he sounded so scared." She trailed off, pushing the tears forming in her eyes back. Now wasn't the time to break down.

She and Kris had left the diner hours ago, Kris in her beat up truck, Maggie in her Ferrari. Now they were sitting in her kitchen, which Kris complemented her on up, down and sideways, in silence. Kris was thinking, looking for a solution.

"Maggie," Kris said slowly, an idea dawning on her. "Call the bank. Ask them the exact time the money will get here." She said. Maggie's brows joined in a straight line. "Just go with me on this. If I'm right we may be able to resolve this sooner then we thought." Maggie flipped her phone back open and dialed a number.

Kris looked outside, the gray dawn offering no sunlight, which she found appropriate for the situation, as was the steady pour of rain falling with it.

"Yes," Maggie said. "Oh thank you so much." She closed her phone and looked at Kris. For the first time since she had seen her at the diner, she looked hopeful. "The money's supposed to be here at midnight." She exclaimed. Kris grinned.

"That's the best news I've heard in awhile." She sighed.

"What were you doing out here anyway?" Maggie asked.

"There were some strange murders around here I figured I should check out," Kris said. "Nothing happens in Colorado anyway."

"That's what we were doing before, well, all this happened." She said. She opened the phone again and redialed the number Raphael had called her from.

"How DARE you call me!" He shouted. Maggie didn't flinch. "How dare you! I am calling the shots here NOT YOU!"

"I can get your money tonight." Maggie said. "All of it, including the extra million you wanted. In exchange I want one thing." She said.

"And what makes you think I will comply to your request?" Raphael asked.

"You won't get your money otherwise." Raphael was silent. Maggie continued. "I want to talk to Lauren and Dean. I need to know they are okay. Otherwise you can kiss every dollar goodbye." Raphael was silent. Maggie could tell his face was red and he was extremely angry, hopefully she would be able to get through to him.

"Fine." He said.

"Maggie?" Lauren said, in utter disbelief that what Raphael had told her was true.

"Yeah Lauren it's me." Maggie said. "Is Sam okay?" She asked.

"Not really Maggs." Lauren admitted, a sob behind her words.

"Where's Dean? Raphael said I could talk to him." Maggie said. Lauren's breath quickened.

"I don't know where he is," Lauren said, Maggie could tell she was crying now. "I-if you do get to talk to him, tell him I love him. Tell him he needs to hang on, he needs to fight." Maggie nodded.

"I will honey." Maggie promised. "I promise. Tell Sammy I love him."

"Enough." Raphael said into the receiver. Maggie scowled.

"Let me talk to Dean." She demanded. "Let me talk to him or the deal's off."

"I will call you in half an hour. Then you will speak to him. Understand?"

"This is the deal breaker Raphael. I don't talk to him the police will be on you front porch by noon." The line went dead. Maggie's head fell. She folded her phone closed. Kris put a hand on her shoulder.

"You did good babe. You did good."

"I wish I felt the same." Maggie said.

* * *

Raphael left the room Lauren and Sam were in. Lauren was tethered to the wall. Her heart aching as she stared at Sam, who was still in the middle of the room under the bared bulb. He was on his side, eyes closed, facing her, breath shallow and labored, crying.

"Sam?" Lauren whispered. "Maggie says she loves you." Sam didn't acknowledge he had heard her.

The door opened again and Lauren looked up, expecting to see Raphael. Instead, Tobias entered the room. He looked down at Lauren, then over to Sam.

"Dammit!" Tobias said softly. "I told him, I...Dammit!"

"I need to make sure he's okay." Lauren whispered. "If I could just see him for a few minutes...please." Tobias looked uneasy. "Please." Lauren repeated. Tobias sighed and moved behind her, untying her wrists.

"Just for a minute." He said. Lauren moved over to Sam, gently touching his shoulder. Sam jumped and looked up at her.

"Shh, it's just me Sam." She soothed. Sam sighed and closed his eyes again. "It's gonna be okay Sam." She whispered, pulling his head into her lap. "It's gonna be alright." Sam sobbed softly, Lauren ran her hand through his hair, and looked at his back. Some of the whip marks were high on his shoulder, and when he looked at Sam's face she saw the tail end of it had caught his cheeks and neck. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, eyes filled with tears. "Maggie's gonna pay the money. We're goin' home tonight." She assured. "You can't give up okay? You're like my own little brother, I can't lose you Sam." Sam nodded.

Tobais' head shot up, suddenly alert. "C'mon," He said to Lauren. "Raphael sees you he'll kill you both." Lauren got up, gently setting Sam's head back on the floor.

"I'm sorry." Tobias said, retying Lauren's wrists.

"If you're so damn sorry let me go." Lauren spat. "You're just as bad, if not worse, than Raphael is." Tobias bowed his head, signaling he already knew.

* * *

Dean was sure he was going insane. The mist seemed to swirl into different shapes and people he knew. Once in awhile he swore he could hear his Impala. He shook his head, trying to clear out the cobwebs, with no success.

His body pulsed with the same white hot agony he had grown used to over the past, was it two days now? He had no clue. He coughed violently again, at least for a whole minute this time as the relentless rain and wind whipped around him.

"Ahuhn," He moaned. He heard a noise, it started far away and then grew. Footsteps. "Mmnn." Dean moaned in despair.

He saw something emerge from the underbrush ahead of him and realized with a start it was Raphael. He had something small in his hand, pressed up to his ear, and an umbrella in his other hand.

"Wait just a few more seconds," Raphael said. "I am a man of my word Margaret." Raphael reached him and hovered the umbrella over him, kneeling down and pressing the phone's receiver to his ear. Dean flinched, unsure what this man would do.

"M-Ma-Magg-ie?" He shuddered, his voice barely loud enough for her to hear.

"Dean?" Maggie said. Dean had never been more happy to hear her voice in his life. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"N-no." He rasped. "'M cold, and wet." He said, shivering. He cast wary glances at Raphael every few seconds.

"Dean, Lauren says she loves you and you need to hang on. You need to keep fighting, just a little while longer." Before Dean could reply Raphael pulled the receiver away and replaced the voice changing device he was using. "My money, tonight, 3rd avenue." Raphael walked away and shut the phone, casting an evil smile back at him, and taking any source of shelter he had.

"Hurry," Dean begged softly. "Pl-please M-Magg-gie."

--Ok, gotta stop here or this chapter'll never end! Reviews welcomed!!--


	7. Death and Rescue

--We're gettin' close to the end guys! Just not yet...--

7

"So we're doin' what now?" Maggie asked as Kris taped the small electrical device to her chest.

"You need to wear this wire in case dumb-ass tries anything stupid." Kris said, backing up. Maggie pulled her shirt down and nodded. "Don't ask how I got this stuf, you don't wanna know."

"That's a good idea." She said. Kris smiled.

"Yeah I thought so." She said. "Now I'll have the radio and I'll be able to talk to you through this," She held up a small earpiece. "If I think things are goin' south I'll tell you to get out of there ASAP. I'm gonna be... around."

"Where are you gonna be?" Maggie asked.

"I have a hunch where they are. I'm gonna go on it and see if I'm right. And if I'm not I risk scaring a few chicken farmers." Kris shrugged. Maggie took a deep breath. It was twelve thirty, she had told Raphael previously that she needed just an extra hour to get his money and she would meet him at their designated spot.

She opened her car door and tossed Kris the keys to the Impala.

"You're kidding right?" Kris asked. Maggie shook her head.

"I only have room for one extra person in my car, and your truck doesn't have a lot of space. And I think Dean would want to see his baby." She said. Kris shook her head.

"As unworthy as I am to drive this gorgeous piece of machinery I will do my duty as an American and a friend." She said, hand on her heart. Maggie shook her head.

"I thought I was random." She said.

"I'm just trying to loosen the tension." Kris said. Maggie smiled lightly and got into her car. Kris carefully got into the Impala, and gingerly shut the door. "God keep the car safe." She whispered and started the engine and shivered at the sound. "Alright now Kris focus." She said and followed Maggie out of the driveway, turning the windshield wipers on against the heavy and large drops of rain.

* * *

Dean shuddered lightly. He was too weak to do anything else. He couldn't even lift his head. He licked his dry lips again and went back to shivering. He knew rain was falling and the icy wind was blowing, but his body was so cold and numb he barely felt it. His body ached and throbbed with anguish, the water stung the raw skin on his wrists.

_Lau-ren, Sa-am, Lau-ren, Sa-am, Lau-ren, Sa-am._ His heart seemed to beat with those words. The wind blew again and he tensed. He had no idea what time it was, what day it was, or how long it would be before he died. If he was never gonna see Lauren, his baby girl, or Sam again, he hoped it was soon.

Hell didn't sound like fun but maybe he's be able to escape this. At least he wouldn't be cold anymore. A river of rire kinda sounded good about now.

_You don't wanna go to hell and you know it._

_Yeah I know. I just want some relief, any kind of relief. Anything. _His eyes closed and he thought he would pass out. Too bad life wasn't that merciful.

"Guhuhnn." He whimpered, a wave of pain rushing over him. "Help."

"Maggie, you aren't gonna believe this but I think I found them. They're about a mile from where you are. And by lookin at this place they've done this before. I won't make a move till you get here."

Maggie would have nodded but it would have given her away. Raphael was in front of her, examining the bills in the black briefcase Maggie had handed to him. She had two million dollars in the case, all in twenties. He shut the case and grinned.

"Excellent." He said. He turned and put the case in the back seat of his beat up Sedan. Magie remained silent. He turned back around, handgun with a silencer on the barrel. Maggie scowled.

"You bastard!" She yelled. "What good will it do to kill me? I just want my friends back!" The old wooden bridge the were on squeaked as the wind and rain shook it. The creek underneath them was flooded with water but some of the large rocks still jutted out of the top.

"I don't care what you want!" Raphael bellowed, brandishing the gun. "I got what I want, and you saw my face!" He stepped closer to her. He tripped on one of the old boards, his grip loosening on the gun. Maggie grabbed the barrel and twisted the gun out of his hand in an instant. She tossed the gun into the rushing creek and drew her own gun. Raphael dove at her, and Maggie fired.

Raphael dodged the bullet and continued to advance on her, full speed. Maggie moved and dodged him. Raphael fell over the railing of the bridge, landing with a loud crunch on one of the rocks as his head struck. Maggie darted to the rail and looked down as his body was carried away by the river.

"Oh god," Maggie said. "I-I didn't mean to...Oh no."

"Maggie!" Kris yelled. "Maggie! What the hell happened? Talk to me!"

"I'm alright." Maggie said. "Raphael tried to kill me. I dodged him and he fell over the side. He's dead." She was sorry he died. She believed in the whole Superman lifestyle. No matter how bad the person, killing them was not the way to go.

"Good riddance," Kris said. "Now grab your cash and get your ass down here, we've got Winchesters to save."

* * *

Lauren jumped when the door opened abruptly, slamming into the wall behind it. She could have cried when she saw Maggie emerge and Kris close behind.

"Oh thank God." Lauren said softly. Maggie smiled at her. Lauren looked over to the far corner of the room. "Maggs get Sam. And hurry!" Maggie ran over to the corner of the room. She saw Sam and a dry sob escaped her lips. He was tethered to the stone wall, leaning up against it, blood on his body and his jeans. She bent down and lifted Sam's face noticing the small slits on his cheeks and his neck.

"Sam?" She whispered. Sam opened his eyes suddenly and flinched away from her.

"Don't, don't please!" He pleaded.

"Shh, Sam honey it's me." Maggie said softly. Sam looked up at her. He smiled lightly and started to cry, falling into her arms. Maggie ran her hand through his hair, using her other arm to untie him. She jumped when he cried out as her hand grazed his back. Then she saw how mangled it was. "Oh Sammy I'm sorry." She said. She got his arms loose and they fell to his sides. She hugged him tighter and let his tears fall on her already damp shoulder. Maggie felt a tear run down her own cheek.

Kris helped Lauren up and once she was she rubbed her wrists.

"Jeez," Kris said, looking at Sam's back. "What an asshole." She said. Lauren shuddered and nodded. "Oh God, did you have ta..?" Lauren nodded again. "Aw ya poor thing. Congrats to you and Dean tyin' the knot by the way."

"Thanks." Lauren said, then her eyes grew. "Oh God, Dean. We have to find him!" She yelled. Sam nodded. Maggie pulled Sam's arm over her shoulder and slowly started to lift them both. "Wait where's Raphael?" Lauren asked, spitting the word out like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"He's dead." Kris Sai simply. Lauren smiled.

"Good." She said. They heard footsteps outside and Mike and Chuck entered. Kris pulled out her gun. "Don't." Lauren said. "Boys there's two million dollars in that case there. Take it and get the hell out of here. If you touch us, or our cars, or we ever see you again, we'll kill you." Mike's eyes grew and he picked up the case, opened it, eyes getting bigger. He grabbed Chuck's arm and pulled him out the door. They heard their footsteps disappear, then another set came from the other end of the hall.

Tobias walked through the door and Lauren grabbed his throat before he could process what was happening. Kris stepped back and chuckled.

"Oo, boy you in trouble." She said. Lauren's face was red, her grip tightening around his throat and lifting his feet off of the ground.

"Where's Dean?" She growled. "I know you know. Where is he?" Tobias' face was turning red as well, slowly deepening to a light purple.

"Outside. Half mile south, straight back. Follow the road." He choked.

Lauren lowered him to the ground and tightened her hand further, pulling his face close to hers.

"I hope you understand that if you're lying to me, I will hunt you down and make the Holocaust prison camps look like a pleasure cruise. Understand?" Tobias nodded and she let him go. He fell to the ground, holding his neck and coughing. Lauren stepped over him and walked out the door. "Let's go." She said. Kris looked from Tobias, to Lauren's back, then to Tobias again, smiling.

"She ain't kiddin' kid." She said and walked over to Maggie, hoisting Sam's other arm over her own shoulders and helped her carry him outside and into her car.

"I'm comin' Dean." Lauren whispered. The wind and rain were her only reply. "Hang on."

--Easy for her to say huh? Review please!!--


	8. Nature Bites

--Almost done guys! Maybe one or two more! Have fun : ) --

8

They drove a half mile down the road and saw nothing but trees looking back at them. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled above their heads. Lauren stared out in the blank darkness, seeing nothing but trees, underbrush and rain every time the lightning cracked the sky.

"Now what?" Kris said, shutting of the Impala's engine. Lauren shook her head in dismay, giving no reply.

Kris looked in the rear view mirror watching Maggie's car pull up behind them and stop. Maggie looked out her passenger window, scanning the trees just as they were. She turned back and faced forward again, leaning back in the seat and closing her eyes. Sam was staring out the window too, tears starting to trickle down his face.

_Poor kid. _She thought. _Dean's the only family he's got left, now he might _really _be an orphan. _Kris turned back to Lauren.

"He's your boy," She said. "Whadda ya wanna do?" She asked. Lauren closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the seat.

"Hang on a sec." She said. _Dean, he's all that matters right now. Focus solely on him. And to whoever gives me those visions, now's the time to give me one._ Lauren felt cold and numb, her body hurt, she was wet and scared...and dying. Pain filled her head and she couldn't open her eyes this time. "Thank you." She whispered and collapsed.

"Lauren!" Kris yelled, shaking her shoulder. "Lauren! Wake up babe c'mon. Lauren!" She lightly slapped the side of Lauren's face. "Lauren!" Lauren gasped and sat up, eyes wide. All she had seen was darkness, all she had heard was ragged gasps for oxygen, all she felt was icy air. She hadn't seen Dean but she knew where he was, precisely.

"Let's go Kris." She said, opening the door. Maggie started to get out of her own car but Lauren held her hand up, signaling for her to stay. She nodded and ran her hand over Sam's face, saying something Lauren couldn't hear. Lauren headed toward the woods, flashlight in hand. Kris opened and closed the car door and jogged up next to her.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, referring back to what happened in the car.

"I have visions about pain and suffering that usually has to deal with people I love." She said bluntly. "Now let's haul ass." Kris nodded and decided to drop the subject.

Lauren pushed through the underbrush around her, one hand on her stomach. "Just a little further." She said. Kris' brow arced.

"How the hell do you know that?" She asked.

"If they're being nice sometimes the people that give me these things tell me where they are." She said again. They reached a small clearing just as a flash of lightning darted across the black sky. Kris pushed her wet hair out of her face and squinted through the rain, shining the light around.

"Oh my God." Lauren whispered, her light beam was pointed at the ground about a hundred feet in front of them, and above that patch of ground was a man. Lauren and Kris rushed forward. Lauren instantly kneeled down in front of him.

Dean coughed violently and shrunk away from her, not knowing who she was or what her intentions were. His breath was labored, ragged, and shallow. Deep bruises covered his torso and his arms. His eye was cut, just above the lid, as was his cheek. His eyes were closed, his head bowed. He was shaking, and whimpering. Lauren reached out and caressed his cheek, his body completely soaked from the havey rain. Thunder roared above their heads and he jumped, cringing away from Lauren again.

Lauren put her hand under his chin and gently lifted his head. "Dean?" She said softly. "Baby?" Dean looked at her, tears instantly spilling from his dulled green eyes. He sighed, relieved.

"L-Lau-ren." He gulped. Lauren rubbed his cheek again and he leaned into her caress. Kris moved behind Dean and drew a pocket knife, flipping it open and shining her flashlight on his wrists.

"It's alright baby," Lauren soothed. "You're gonna be just fine." She looked behind him and saw Kris' grim look, her gaze on Dean's wrists. She looked up at Lauren.

_"He was so close." _She mouthed. And Dean was. The rope holding his wrists together was extremely thin, a few more scrapes on the bark would have broken it. Lauren shook her head, signaling not to tell him. Kris nodded and snapped the rope in one swipe.

"Ahhss." Dean rasped.

"Shhshh, it's okay." Lauren said gently. Her hand was still on his face and he continued to lean into it. She was so warm. Kris unraveled the rope, revealing the raw, bleeding skin underneath, and causing Dean to hiss even louder. Dean's arms came from around the tree and he fell forward into Lauren's arms, sobbing.

"I-I wanna g-go ho-home." He wept. Lauren started crying as well.

"Shh,shhshhshh." She soothed. "We are, we are baby." She wrapped her arms around his drenched, shaking, freezing body. Dean leaned in as close as he could, his head almost resting on her bulging stomach. She lifted his chin again and kissed him softly. "You're safe now." She said. He laid his head back down. "We're gonna get out of here, we're gonna get in your car, and we are never going into the woods again." She said, voice shaky. Dean coughed again, worse than the first time.

"Sam," Dean said suddenly. "W-where-" He cut himself off by going into another coughing fit.

"Shh," She ran her fingers through his hair. "Sam's gonna be just fine." She said, and instantly regretted it. Dean looked up at her, pain overflowing in his eyes.

"Is, is he?" He whispered.

"He's gonna be alright." Lauren said. "He's a little hurt but he'll be okay." She promised. Dean sobbed harder.

"I-I w-wasn't th-there." He choked. "It's m-my faul-fault."

"No," Lauren said firmly. "There is no way you could have known. You had no way to stop it." Lauren suddenly noticed the rain had stopped. She was damp, the wettest part of her was where Dean was laying. "Right now all you need to worry about is getting over that hypothermia." Lauren hugged him as tightly as she could. He shuddered and coughed. "I think you're sick." Lauren said. Dean nodded.

"I wan-na see S-Sam." He said, his voice almost too quiet to hear. Lauren looked warily at Kris, who shook her head. Lauren agreed it was a bad idea and grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket.

"This'd be easier." She said. She pressed a button and hit talk. "Maggs?...Yeah. Hey, can you give the phone to Sam?" She pushed the phone up against Dean's ear.

"Sammy?" He said hoarsely.

"Dean." Sam sighed, a small smile on his face.

"Y-you okay?"

"Mm-hm."

"Good." Dean sighed weakly.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Y-yeah." His efforts to lie were ruined when he began to cough again. "I'll see ya Sam-Sammy." He breathed.

"Bye Dean." Dean leaned back against Lauren and sighed. Lauren shoved her phone in her pocket and hoisted Dean's arm over her shoulder, Kris following suit. Dean jumped when he felt the other person touching him, apparently just realizing she was there.

"Shh," Lauren said. "It's okay baby. It's just Kris."

"How's it hangin' Dean?" Kris asked. Dean just stared at her, giving the obvious answer. "Oh, right."

"Th-thanks." Dean whispered. Kris shrugged.

"No problemo." She said. Lauren and Kris lifted Dean together and started half dragging and half carrying Dean out of the woods. Dean had no desire to look back at the awful, bloodstained tree he had been tied to the past two days.

He glanced at the woods around him and the clearing he had grown so familiar with, and had one thing to say to this wilderness.

_Fuck you._

--Sam and Dean coddling next chap! For now, tell me how you liked this one!! C'mon, you know you want to.--


	9. I Missed You

9

Maggie got Sam in her house and up to the room they were supposed to be staying in if not for this whole mess. She had grabbed a first aid kit out of one of the bathrooms and was heading back to that room. She was worried, relieved and a little scared. Would she show it? Hell no. She took a deep breath when she reached the door, then turned the knob and went inside.

Sam was laying on his stomach, eyes closed, wincing every so often. His mangled back faced the ceiling. Maggie asked Lauren what happened.

"It's my fault." She had said quietly. "Raphael got mad at me and did that to Sam r-" She paused for a moment. "Right in front of me." She rubbed her temples, Maggie saw tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. Tell him I said that would ya?" Maggie nodded and put a hand on Lauren's shoulder.

"He doesn't blame you," She assured. "He never would. And I don't either." Lauren gave her a small smile.

"Thanks." She said. "We better get to it." She said, referring to Sam and Dean. Maggie had nodded and headed out of the bathroom toward her and Sam's room. Now she was here, looking at the man she loved, her heart breaking. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to Sam, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Sam?" She said quietly. Sam opened his eyes and smiled slightly at her. "You okay?" She asked. Sam nodded; Maggie knew he wouldn't tell her if he wasn't anyway. She popped open the white case she had next to her and pulled out a white cloth and a bottle of peroxide. She tipped the peroxide onto the cloth. "This is gonna hurt." She said. Sam nodded and bit his lip, bracing himself.

Maggie touched the cloth to a large gash on his back.

"Ahhnn," Sam whimpered. Maggie trailed her fingers through his hair and dabbed another welt. Sam gripped the pillow under his head and winced.

"I'm sorry honey." Maggie said. Sam nodded as a gesture to keep going. Once she had cleaned and covered his back, she moved to the bruises on his ribs. They wrapped around to his chest and stomach. Maggie grimaced. "Sam, I gotta roll you over." She said softly. Sam nodded. Maggie put one arm under Sam and the other in his back. Carefully, she rolled him over.

"Guhuhn." Sam moaned. Maggie winced, for hurting Sam, but mostly because of the bruises that decorated his torso were so dark.

"God Sammy," She said. "I should have gotten there faster."

"Not your fault." Sam said softly. Maggie shook her head.

"I should've." She said. "This is gonna hurt too baby." She gently pushed on his ribs, right on a bruise, making sure nothing was broken. Her mother Iris had showed her everything she had known about anything medical. Then again she was only a nurse, but hey, Maggie learned a lot from her. She grasped Sam's hand when he cried out after she had pushed on a large bruise that was almost black. "Alright," Maggie said. "That one's fractured." Sam groaned. "Yeah I know." She continued this exercise until she knew how many of Sam's ribs were damaged. It turned out there were four.

She wrapped his ribs, cleaned the cut above his eye, and got him a change of clothes. "Okay," Maggie said. "I'm done I promise." She said. Sam sighed and closed his eyes, obviously relieved. Maggie laid down next to him, careful not to hurt him. Sam turned his head and looked at her. He leaned forward and kissed her gently. Maggie put her hand on his face and brushed a tendril of his bangs out of his face.

"I love you." He whispered hoarsely. Maggie smiled shyly.

"I love you too Sam." She said. "You scared the crap of me." She admitted.

"I was scared too." He said. "I didn't know if I'd see you again." He wrapped his arms around her, much to his body's displeasure, and hugged her tight.

"You're gonna hurt yourself." Maggie said, hugging him back.

"I don't care." He whispered. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and closed his eyes. Maggie sighed and closed her eyes, feeling his warm body next to hers.

"Man I missed you."

* * *

"Shhshh," Lauren said softly. "It's alright baby, you're alright." She dabbed the washcloth on the bad cut above his eye again. Dean winced. One of his shoulders had been popped out of place, he was dehydrated and had bad hypothermia. He was still shaking now.

Thunder crashed outside and Dean jumped. Lauren gently touched his cheek, running her thumb over his lips.

"It's okay Dean." She said. "You're not there anymore. I promise." Dean closed his eyes and bit back the tears that had appeared in them. Lauren set the cloth down on the night stand next to the bed.

"Ahhnn." He gulped.

"God baby, you're shakin' like a leaf." Lauren said. Dean coughed violently and Lauren propped him up. He stopped and laid back down.

"'M freezin'." He slurred. Lauren scoffed.

"Tell that to your forehead." She said.

"Mmma," Dean whimpered, a tremor traveling through his body. Lauren had no choice but to cover him up. Hypothermia could kill faster than a fever.

"It's okay baby." Lauren soothed.

_Alright, hypothermia. Hypothermia...what do I know about hypothermia? ...Body heat! _She lifted the blankets and laid down next to him, pulling his body toward her own. Instantly Dean scrunched up against her.

"Mm, you're warm." He whispered.

"You're freezing." Lauren said, hugging him tighter. She softly kissed his forehead. He sighed leaned his head against her shoulder. "You don't know how happy I am to see you." She said.

"Ditto." He rasped. "I never wanna hear the word rain again." Lauren laughed softly.

"Me either." Dean tensed suddenly.

"Ahah, UHUN!" He screamed, arching his back. Lauren's eyes grew and her grip tightened on him.

"Shh, shh, shh." Lauren said tenderly, softly caressing his neck. "It's okay, it's okay." Dean started to sob.

"It hurts." He cried. Lauren nodded.

"I know baby, I know." She said, tears in her own eyes.

"Hold me?" He whispered, referring back to what they had started saying to each other a month ago.

"Always." She said, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Love me?"

"Forever."

"I thought I, I was gonna die." He choked. "And I didn't want t-to. Not yet." Lauren closed her eyes and stopped herself from sobbing herself.

"You're not going to. I promise. You've still got time. You've still got time."

"I don't know if Sam can save me."

"He will." Lauren said firmly. "He, Maggie and I are not gonna give up, not till the last second." Dean buried his face in her neck. Lauren sniffed. "I don't wanna talk about this right now." She said. Dean started another coughing fit. "I do want you to get better." She said. Dean nodded and closed his eyes.

_I've gotta save him. I know where he's going, I know what it looks like. I know what hell is. And as God as my witness I will do everything in my power to save him from that awful place._

**END**

--Did you like? Send me a review and tell me so! Thanx to all who read, reviewed and liked. God bless all! Next one's called Disturbia. If you've seen the movie you'll get the title.--


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